Previously, on
American Idol, Jennifer Lopez was crying over sending Chris Medina home or whether or not she'd sent him home the right way. Randy and Steven assured her that she did a good job and told her not to worry -- she's still rich, beautiful and famous. Five people have gone through to the Top 24, five people have been sent into the depths of singing hell.
Production "has come to a halt," because of J. Lo's "emotional crossroads." She's questioning everything! But the show must go on ... after a five minute break. And so it does! That was quick.
Karen Rodriguez, of Myspace "fame," meets with the judges next. She sang a sultry version of "If You Had My Love" in her first solo performance and a Selena song for her final performance. Jennifer Lopez was beyond hooked on this girl. I like her, too, and was happy to see her scrape by into the Top 24. More importantly, Jennifer Lopez is back!
Robbie Rosen takes his penchant for leather (or is it pleather?) down the green mile next. He performed a soulful ballad and, abiding by the laws of Randy Jackson, left it all on stage. The judges love him and he made it through to the Top 24. To make him feel even better, Jennifer tells him he's one of the best singers they have. She just wants to make everyone feel their best.
We haven't seen much of
Tatynisa Wilson except when she made up lots of fun words to Leann Womack's "I Hope You Dance." In a move that won me over, she performed "Unbreak My Heart" for her final solo. In the end, she makes it into the Top 24, which must mean that some rejection is about to hit a few hopefuls.
Sure enough, it was a no for a couple of people we haven't seen a lot of. If it's any consolation, they would have been at a disadvantage anyway. You know, without much of a story.
Studly piano guy
Tim Halperin is up next. You may remember him from hitting on Jennifer Lopez in LA or from sing-hitting-on Julie Zorilla in their performance of "Something." He performed an original song at the piano for his final piece but did that "risk" pay off? After a confusing judgment, Steven Tyler faked him out and he's in the Top 24. It never gets old, does it, Steven?
Lovely
Julie Zorilla is up next, another piano player who Jennifer loves. She even declared Julie a potential winner. So it's no surprise that she sails right into the Top 24. She was criticized for not having an emotional connection to the lyrics and music first, though. The stylists are going to love dressing her.
This is big: For the first time ever, I enjoyed Ryan Seacrest! He sort of made fun of Scotty McCreery for singing that same song over and over again as he sat with him and John Wayne Schulz in the Coca-Cola Red Room.
Scotty McCreery redeemed himself in a big old country way in that airplane hangar. He sounds eerily like Randy Travis for a 17-year-old. It seems like people are starting to turn against Scotty, but I'm not there yet. He's just a fresh-faced 17-year-old! He tells the judges he regrets not stepping up and being the man he should be in the group round. I just like him! Scotty is in the Top 24.
There wasn't room for
John Wayne Schulz, though. Randy said he didn't think John was quite ready and he must have been thinking, "Are you serious?" But it was off into the sunset for John Wayne.
Jovany Barreto is still in this. He took his shirt off in the auditions and worked that Casey James trick all the way to his final performance in the hangar. Did he leave it all on the stage? Yes. You know what,
American Idol? If the judges didn't take so long faking everyone out and making unnecessary speeches, this show could be cut down to an hour!
Only 12 spots remain! Will this show hold any major surprises? Meltdowns? Deaths?
The judges await their next victim --
Lauren Turner. We haven't seen a whole lot of her, but I LOVE this girl. She nailed her part of "Forget You" in the group round and had an impressive final solo. "You made it," says Randy, who is 10 seasons' worth of tired.
Then in his celebration, a friend of Lauren's fakes passing out ... I think. Hilarious! No, it wasn't. How dare he do that to Ryan Seacrest?
Tiwan Strong and
Eryn Kelly (like Aaron Kelly! That would have been amazing) do not make it.
Rachel Zevita faces the judges next. She could probably take that advice from Coco Chanel about taking one thing off before you leave the house. Homegirl loves the accessories. Fortunately for Rachel, she killed her final solo in the airplane hangar. Steven Tyler was "sorry to have to say that she's coming through." Maybe he has short-term memory loss and keeps thinking he's never made that joke before.
Kendra Chantelle, who partnered with Paul McDonald in the Las Vegas round, made a bold move by singing her audition song for her final performance. I could probably do without her, but Kendra moves through.
Another person I could do without is music teacher,
Jordan Dorsey. He knows how to dish out the rejection, but will he have to take it? He did particularly well in the hangar, and he'll have to win over the viewers as part of the Top 24. He didn't apologize for not being the man he felt he should be or anything, but he's still in it.
All right, let's talk about
Lauren Alaina's outfit. What is going on? Ryan sort of joked about it, but it didn't seem like she was in on the joke. She's like Kelly Clarkson meets Carrie Underwood ... meets
Toddlers & Tiaras. It's kind of a mess but I love it.
Lauren's shaky performance in the Beatles round left the judges wondering if she could handle the pressure, but her final solo left the judges looking like this -- so of course she's in the Top 24:
Stefano Langone has just gotten better and better and chose to sing his own song in the final round. Not sure about that choice, but Stefano has won a lot of us over. Jennifer Lopez faltered a little with her fakeout, but in the end it came through that Stefano is in the Top 24.
Jackie Wilson, who has an old boyfriend, has made it this far. She fumbled her final performance of Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You," and it cost her a spot in the Top 24. Still, she has inspired me to get me an old dude boyfriend some day. Never give up on your dreams! Never say never!
Rising star
Jacob Lusk has just been singing the paint off the walls through this whole competition. True to form, he diva'd out his final performance, leaving his shirt untucked and suspenders off to make room for more notes. Randy told him his performance of "God Bless the Child" was the single best performance he's seen EVER on
American Idol. So naturally Jacob is through! Will someone please make me an animated gif of Jacob's exit?
Only a few hopefuls remain, and among them is
Pia Toscano. She did incredibly well with her final solo, but is there room for both her and Julie Zorilla in this competition? Yes! She's in.
James Durbin, single-handedly bringing back the scarf tail (or single-handedly putting it to rest), faces the judges next. Predictably, he sang very high and screamy at the judges for his final solo. I don't have anything against him personally; I just feel like it's something we've already heard on
American Idol. But at least he's different. I also appreciate that he didn't gel his hair into a mohawk or wear a bandana for his final judgment. He's in!
If you've been counting or watching any previews, you've realized that
Casey Abrams made it into the Top 24 (or if you read any
spoilers about his hospitalization). It was fun to watch him knock over that chair, though. I love his voice, his style, and based on personality alone, he might be my favorite. He's such a
musician! He has set out to prove that "people like [him] can be sexy." Can I legally respond to that or is it weird and gross?
For the girls, it comes down to
Thia Megia and
Jessica Cunningham. Thia's had a lot more buzz around her so it wasn't much of a surprise that she moved through. I hope she got all that Josh Groban out of her system before the performance rounds, though.
I feel bad for Jessica Cunningham; she has auditioned SEVEN times! To lose it to a 15-year old, especially ... on your 25th birthday. Ouch. She made the best of it, though.
It's down to
Brett Loewenstern, who keeps insisting on holding hands,
Jacee Badeaux, and
Colton Dixon, for the final spot. Ryan tells them there's one spot, and this is news to Brett and Jacee -- bad news. Jacee's final performance was surprisingly good. That little kid has diva potential! Brett sang his own song, which Ryan Seacrest seems convinced is a bad idea or a risk. It really doesn't seem that way, Ryan. Colton Dixon may have flown too far under the radar this season. Brett Loewenstern is in the Top 24.
Jacee is sweet, but I'm glad to see this spot go to Brett. He's just so nice and I wish we were friends! Jacee can come back, maybe once his voice has changed? It was a bittersweet moment. Brett didn't get to have a jumping, screaming moment and has been robbed of a few of those so far this season. But at least we're all shining stars. Well,
they are.
American Idol returns next week as the guys perform on Tuesday, the girls on Wednesday, and the finalists are revealed on Thursday. WHEW.
In the end, I can only leave you with the wise words of Rachel Zevita's grandmother:
God bless you, Ryan. God bless us, every one!